St. Catherine’s Nursery School“A family school in the heart of Strabane”

“Achieving Excellence Together”

School ProspectusPrincipal: Mrs Bridget Wilders

B.Ed, P.G. Dip Ed., P.Q.H.

Barrack St Site: Tel: 02871 382614 (Senior School Site) Fax: 02871 382482Email: bwilders592@c2kni.netWebsite : www.stcatherinesps.co.uk

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Nursery Room 1:

Nursery Teacher: Mrs. Porter

Nursery Assistant: Mrs. Caulfield

Nursery Room 2:

Nursery Teacher: Mrs. Mc Corkell

Nursery Assistant: Mrs. Campbell

St. Catherine’s Nursery was established originally in Autumn 1998 and has now been amalgamated as part of St. Catherine’s Primary school. It is a well equipped double Nursery and caters for 52 boys and girls of Nursery age on a full time basis. Each class is staffed by a Nursery Teacher and Nursery Assistant.

We aim to ensure that whilst at St. Catherine’s Nursery School each child will encounter stimulating and challenging play experience which enables them to progress in all areas of their development within a secure and caring environment in which parents and the child’s home life play an important part.

Staff

General Information

Our Aim

Inspectors visited our school in May 2016. They were very impressed with the quality of the teaching and learning being provided. There are four Grades that Inspectors award to schools to summarise the overall effectiveness of a school. Our school attained the highest level …

Level 1 : The School has a high level of capacity for sustained improvement in the interest of all learners.

We are understandably very proud of this grade of overall effectiveness and are delighted that this has been recognised by Inspectors, Department of Education, CCMS, Education Authority and the public alike.

We are not however complacent and continue to work especially hard to make sure that the service we provide is one that continues to serve our children excellently hence our motto……

“Achieving Excellence Together”

Quality Assurance from ETI (Inspectors)

Quality Assurance from ETI (Inspectors)

With this aim in mind we carefully plan a Nursery Curriculum which is broad and balanced and offers each child the opportunity to develop in the following areas:-

1. Personal, Social and Emotional Development.Appropriate opportunities are provided for children to learn personal and social skills, attitudes and values e.g. Taking turns, co-operating, sharing, exploring their emotions, developing self confidence, identifying with others and functioning as part of a social group. Acceptable standards of hygiene are encouraged and children are taught how to look after themselves and others.

2. The ArtsCreative play assists emotional development, promotes aesthetic awareness and is an avenue for self expression. Children experience the joy of achievement while working with various media and tools e.g. Paint, crayons, clay, wood, fabrics, sponges and appreciate colour, shape, texture and other properties of materials. They are encouraged to express ideas, feelings and imagination through representations which become increasingly detailed as the young child’s awareness grows. They learn songs rhymes and listen and respond to music. They make their own music too. Every year each child takes part in the Annual Christmas Nativity with St. Catherine’s Primary School. Each child is also encouraged to participate in the Strabane Feis hence promoting confidence and self – esteem.

Our Curriculum

3. Physical Development and MovementChildren enjoy physical play both indoors and out. Types of play offered at Nursery contribute to the development of large and fine motor control.Children have the opportunity to explore space outdoors and learn to use a range of large and small equipment with increasing confidence and skill. Fine control, hand eye coordination and left to right movement are developed in readiness for writing.

4. Language DevelopmentThrough a wide variety of play situations children are encouraged to talk about experiences, ideas and feelings as they interact with adults and other children. Adults assist children to use language confidently by listening and using open-ended questions thereby encouraging skilful comment. Children are encouraged to listen and participate in stories, rhymes and music, therefore increasing their attention skills and concentration.They enjoy and share books from a well stocked library of appropriate material and become aware of the written word conveying meaning in various play situations too.Pre-writing skills are developed through the use of paints, pencils, crayons etc. These skills are the foundations of early writing.

5. Early Mathematical ExperiencesPlay is an effective vehicle for fostering mathematical concepts and developing positive attitudes to mathematics.Through skilfully planned play activities and engaging in rhymes, songs and stories which have a mathematical element, children are able to explore, experiment and develop concepts such as space, time number, shape, size, pattern, order and relationships. They use their own language to describe and make sense of the mathematical concepts that they come across.Children are given time and opportunity to explore a variety of materials and consolidate these concepts.

6. World Around Us

Children are helped to understand their world and develop knowledge of it through naturally occurring experiences e.g. holidays, birthdays, seasonal festivals. They explore interest tables of shells, autumnal items, photographs, plants etc.Through themes and topics they explore their own history and that of their family and experiences in their lives. They become aware of their community and discuss the geography of it in simple terms. They use their senses to explore their settings indoors and out.Visitors to school and educational trips enrich the children’s environmental experiences further.The natural curiosity of young children is harnessed at Nursery and they are encouraged to investigate and explore their world.The language of Science & Technology is developed by interaction with adults who plan play activities to promote scientific and interaction and technological concepts e.g. Properties of sand, water, texture, sound, space, how materials behave in various situations.Seasonal events play a large part in Nursery experience and children learn about the weather changes and seasonal changes. They develop a respect for living things by caring for plants indoors and out, and nursery animals.

The Nursery day begins at 9.00am and ends at 1.40pm i.e. it is a full Nursery day. Doors open at 9am every morning.

At the beginning of every new school year – we have a “settling in” period to ease the transition into Nursery life. Details of this will be given to all parents when a place is offered.Our day consists of planned play activities and learning experiences both indoors and outdoors, and may also involve visits away from Nursery and visitors to Nursery as part of a rich programme of learning.We seek to ensure a healthy attitude to eating. To encourage this we provide a nutritionally balanced buffet snack each morning.Staff and children share a hot meal or a packed lunch at lunchtime, each day, within the playroom.

All children can eat dinner if they wish to. A dinner menu is available for each child. This dinner is a carefully planned nutritional meal that is freshly made in the school’s kitchen. Dinner costs £2.50 per day. Children may also bring a packed lunch. All staff and children eat together. The current Menu is at the back of this booklet.

We are a Health Promoting School. To this end we take great care to provide a healthy, well balanced, nutritious buffet snack every day for our children.Due to financial constraints we do ask our parents for a termly contribution towards this snack.

Our Day

Dinner

Buffet Snack

Bread & ButterBread & Butter & JamToast & ButterToast & Butter & Jam½ Bap & Butter½ Roll & ButterPancakes & ButterWheaten bread & ButterWheaten bread & Butter & JamCereal {Cornflakes, Rice Krispies}Cream Crackers & ButterCream Crackers & Butter & JamBiscuits {Digestives, Rich Tea, Nice, Shortbread}

ApplesOrangesBananaPearMelonStrawberriesGrapes {Grapes are cut in half for pupils for Health and Safety reasons}Plum {Stoned Removed}TomatoesCarrotDried Fruit/ Mixed Fruit

Snack Food

It is our belief that a respect for others and the environment grows out of a positive self attitude. With this in mind we seek to promote the child’s self image and encourage an attitude of caring for others and the environment. We have a Praise System in our Nursery where children are rewarded for good behaviour, good participation, sharing, use of language, skills development and other aspects of attainment. Our Nursery is linked to the Primary School by participation in the Whole School Harry Potter House Award System.

The Whole School House Rewards System began in November 2018 for ALL classes throughout the school from Nursery – Year 7. Our children and parents were consulted regarding the names of the Houses that each child will become a member of and they chose the Four Houses of Harry Potter.

The Rules and Rewards:

House Point Rules:               How to earn points:

1 point:   excellent classwork, super homework, being creative, wonderful practical work, sporting skills, beautiful singing, fantastic problem solving

Behavioural Management

Whole School Harry Potter House Award System

2 points:good behaviour, great attitude in school, lovely manners, showing consideration to others, being kind and thoughtful to others in the playground and the canteen, participation in Hymn Practice, full uniform check, participation in events: eg. Feis, Diwali, Chinese Show, Irish Language Show, Nativity and Assemblies.

Special Bonus:A pupil who does something extra special gains  three points for their House! Prizes:Each month   – Pupils in the ‘House’ with the most points, in each class, receive a ‘Homework Pass.'

    Each Term -     The leading 'House' in each class gets a certificate.At the end of the year   –   the House (throughout the whole school) with the most points wins the ‘House Shield’ and each child in that House wins a medal and a Day Trip!

We believe that parents are very important to the child’s learning and play an important role in the quality of learning that takes place whilst the child is at Nursery.

We encourage active involvement of parents in Nursery events and seek to work closely with them to ensure the best possible experience for the child and his/her parents. We formally meet with parents in the Autumn Term to report on how each child is settling in and discuss any concerns. There is also a formal written report to parents in the Summer Term. We also have a Nursery Curriculum Information Session where we invite parents in to our Nursery and the teacher explains the actual teaching that goes on in the Nursery so that Parents can help support this at home with their children. Parents are also sent a termly Nursery Curriculum Newsletter which explains to the parents the topics being taught each term.

There are three KEY Opportunities where we involve parents directly in the Curriculum with our Children.

Parental Involvement

1. Getting Ready To Learn Programme

This programme has 4 main components ......

Education Works: Parents are provided with information about the Nursery Curriculum with a focus on the importance of Play Based Learning and Speech and Language.

Happy, Healthy Kids: Parents are encouraged with staff to focus on Healthy Eating and the promotion of the importance of Physical Development...thereby enabling safe/healthy physical play at home and in school

Ages and Stages: Parents are provided with more information about the stages of development of their child and how best to enhance their learning including the promotion of social skills such as turntaking, cooperating and negotiating.

Big Bedtime Read: This component has a focus on storytelling, nursery rhymes and including these in the very important bedtime routine for their child.

2. Sunflower Programme

This is an exciting new initiative based on a Health Improvement Programme used called Schools For Hope. Schools for Hope is a new curriculum project developed to support Mental Health and Well Being .It is based on research that suggests hope is a teachable skill to all children. Its aim is to equip pupils, educators, and parents with the tools they need to find and maintain Hope even during the most trying of times.

The programme is aimed to encourage our wee children (at a young age ) to think and talk about their hopes and to help develop their resilience as they journey through early years and onwards into older years and hence on into adulthood. The Sunflower is our sign of HOPE as it is such a resilient flower and parents find out more about this in the first session.

The programme consists of 10 structured workshops which are delivered to the children by the class teachers. Our parents are asked to join and support our wee children during 4 of these. The workshops are informal, interactive and so much fun and take place in the Nursery Classrooms. The first 5 workshops take place in Term 1 before Christmas and the last 5 workshops take place in Term 3 after Easter.

3. Five To Thrive Programme

We all know that there is nothing more important in the lives of young children than their parents. Recent research proves that how a parent behaves around their baby in the first three years of life has a direct impact on how the baby’s brain develops. This is the foundation of how the brain will work as the child grows up and becomes an adult, so if a baby’s brain develops healthily they are more likely to be happy and successful as older children and adults.

The Five to Thrive Programme focuses on 5 key points for Healthy Brain development and relationship building. ......Respond, Cuddle, Relax, Play, Talk.

Surestart Staff who have been specially trained deliver this programme with parents in Nursery.

We really value the support that we get from our Parents, Friends, Past Pupils, Neighbours and Community Members.We have a very active and supportive P.T.F.A. organisation in our school who work very hard to assist with fundraising and various other events that take place during the school year to enhance the quality of provision for our children and unites us all as a very close family school.We always welcome new members and actively encourage everyone to feel valued in our wee school community.

At St. Catherine’s Nursery School, our uniform is designed to promote ease of movement and safety. It is bright, cheerful and encourages freedom of activity and independence.Our uniform consists of a

1. White polo shirt with the school crest 2. Navy jogging bottoms3. Royal blue sweatshirt with the school crest on it4. White/ navy socks and Black Velcro shoes.

Please ensure your child wears appropriate clothing and velcro shoes with your child’s name clearly marked.Our uniform is available from GMG Logos , Orchard Road Industrial Estate , Strabane at a reasonable cost.

Uniform

P.T.F.A.

Every year we take applications for places into our Nursery and to our Primary School.

The Board of Governors of the school has agreed a set of Admissions Criteria in conjunction with the EA (Education Authority) and DENI (Department of Education for Northern Ireland).

We can admit 52 pupils to our Nursery and 58 pupils (Maximum 60)to our Year 1 Classes in Primary School. Parents apply for a place for their child by completing an ONLINE application form and submitting relevant documentation to the Clerical Officers on either site of our school. It should be noted that “Duty to Verify” documentation should be supplied e.g. child’s birth certificate and proof of address.

The criteria for admission to our Nursery and Primary School is strictly adhered to. We strongly advise parents to read our admissions criteria and if any of the criteria applies please make sure that you write this clearly on the application form.

If there are more applications than there are places available we operate a Waiting List. Our Waiting List Policy is supplied in this prospectus.

Admission to Nursery and to Primary School.

Nursery Admissions Criteria

St Catherine’s Primary School Nursery Unit Voluntary MaintainedBarrack Street Admissions No: 52Strabane Roll: Full-time 53BT82 8HETel No: 028 7138 2614 Fax No: 028 7138 2482 E-mail: bwilders592@c2kni.net Principal: Mrs B Wilders Chair of the Board of Governors: Mrs B Allen

Respective functions of the Board of Governors and the Principal in relation to admissions. The Admissions Criteria will be applied by a Selection Panel appointed by the Board of Governors.

The Board of Governors of St Catherine’s Primary School have determined that, in the event of there being more applicants than places available, the following criteria will be applied, in the order set down to select children for the available places. Children who are not normally resident in Northern Ireland at the time of their proposed admission will not be considered for places until all children who reside in Northern Ireland have been considered.

Preference will be given to those applications that place St Catherine’s PS Nursery Unit as their 1st choice of pre-school provision.

Admissions Criteria

Statutory Criteria

1 Children from socially disadvantaged circumstances born between 2 July 2015 and 1 July 2016 2 Children born between 2 July 2015 and 1 July 2016

Note: “Children from socially disadvantaged circumstances” means a child whose parent is in receipt of Income Support or Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or an award of Income Support which has been converted into an Employment and Support Allowance and the level of benefit remains the same. When parents apply for places for their child on this basis they must have their application forms stamped by the Social Security Agency to confirm that they are in receipt of a qualifying payment.

Non-Statutory Criteria

3 Children born between 2 July 2016 and 1 July 2017 who are considered by the Education Authority as having significant special educational needs which indicate that the child would benefit from nursery education. Documentary evidence must be submitted to the Board of Governors.

4 Children born between 2 July 2016 and 1 July 2017 in chronological order of age.

Sub-Criteria

In the event of there being more applicants than places available for the last criterion which can be applied, then selection for the remaining places will be on the basis of the following sub-criteria set out below.

N.B. Children of the family includes brother/sister, half-brother/half-sister, adopted or foster brother/sister living at the same address.

(a) Children who have a child/children of the family currently enrolled in St Catherine’s PS Nursery Unit or St Catherine’s Primary School.

(b) Children who are the eldest / only child in the family.(c) Children whose parents/guardians reside in the Parish of Camus.(d) Children whose parents/guardians reside in the East Ward.(e) Children who normally reside in the North South West and West Wards of Strabane (on an equal

basis).

In the event of over-subscription in the last criterion which can be applied then selection for all places remaining in this category will be on the basis of the initial letter of the surname as per the birth certificate, in the order set out below:-

H F K L D M O Y S C Z P T Mc N

Q I W J Mac O’ B R U G E V X A

The order was determined in randomised selection of letters of the alphabet. In the event of surnames beginning with the same letter the subsequent letters of the surnames will be used in alphabetical order. In the event of two identical surnames the alphabetical order of the initials of the forenames as per the birth certificate will be used.

It is important that parents/guardians when submitting the application form give all the relevant supporting information and written evidence that may be needed, including the child's birth certificate.

Please ensure, in particular, you read the sub-criteria and include relevant information relating to these criteria. “Parents/Guardians Please Note: If any of the sub-criteria are relevant to your application please write this on your Application Form so that due consideration may be given.”

If a place is offered on the basis of incorrect or misleading information then the Board of Governors may withdraw the offer. All criteria will apply as at the closing date on the application form.

Applications after 1 September 2019

The same criteria will be used for admissions after 1 September 2019

If parents/guardians have any difficulty in completing the application form, or wish for clarification on any aspect of it, they should consult the Principal.

Parents/Guardians should also note that if their child is seeking nursery provision

for the 2nd year they MUST reapply.

DUTY TO VERIFY

Applicants should note that they will be required to produce documents verifying their address.  All applications should provide any two of the following four documents;

-              A bank or building society statement which shows the address at which the child is resident;

-              A utility bill (for instance electricity, gas, Television Licence, telephone) which shows the address at which the child is resident;

-              A letter awarding Child Benefit to the child or another letter relating to this benefit;

-              The child’s Medical Card.

 

If the requested evidence is not provided to the Board of Governors by the deadline given, this will result in the withdrawal of an offer of a place. Similarly, if information is supplied which appears to be false or misleading in any material way, the offer of a place will be withdrawn.

Waiting List Policy

Waiting List Policy

The Board of Governors of St. Catherine’s Nursery and Primary School has decided to operate an automatic waiting list in the event that there are more applications for available places either in the Nursery Unit or in Years 1 to 7 of

the Primary School. The arrangements for the operation of the waiting lists are detailed below:

1. Nursery Unit

The Nursery Unit has always been oversubscribed with more applications received than there are places available. After the closing date for applications in January, the published admissions criteria are applied to select those children who are to receive places in September. Letters offering the places are issued by the school in March/April (date determined by Education Authority).

Should a vacancy arise after the issue of placement letters by the school, applications for admission to the Nursery Unit that were initially refused, new applications, late applications and applications where new information has been provided, will be treated equally and the published criteria applied. The waiting list will remain in place from the issue of placement letters in March/April until 30 June of the following year.

The school will contact you in writing if your child gets a place in the school by this method. Your child’s name will be automatically added to the list. Please contact the school if you wish for your child’s name to be removed from the list.

2. Primary School: Years 1 - 7

Should a vacancy arise after the issue of the placement letters by the school for Year 1 (normally during the month of April – date determined by Education Authority), all applications that were initially refused, new applications, late applications and applications where new information has been provided, will be treated equally and the published criteria applied.

Should a vacancy occur at any time in Years 2 – 7, applications for admission to that year group that were initially refused, new applications, late applications and applications where new information has been provided, will be treated equally and the published criteria applied.

If you have been unsuccessful in securing a place in Years 1 – 7, your child’s name will be kept on the waiting list until 30 June of the year in which the child would normally complete their Primary School education (end of Year 7).

The school will contact you in writing if your child gains a place in the school by this method. Your child’s name will be automatically added to the list. Please contact the school if you wish for your child’s name to be removed from the list.

ONLINE DIGITAL Admission ProcessThis year the application process for both NURSERY and YEAR ONE Places has changed. Parents should apply online for these places.

The ONLINE system will open at 10am on WEDNESDAY 2nd JANUARY and will

close at 12 Midnight on THURSAY 31st JANUARY.

The ONLINE link is below www.eani.org.uk (Click on admissions)

We appreciate that this is new to parents and some parents might find this process a little unnerving. Some parents may apply online with ease, however for any that would like a little extra support and guidance, we have arranged for little “Drop in Sessions” in school so that parents can come in and apply for a place for their child with staff there ready to help and guide in the process.

The times that staff will be available to help are in the table below.

Day /Date Location Morning Session Afternoon Session

Evening Session (If applicable)

Monday 7th January

Senior School (Barrack Street Site)

9am-10am 1pm-2pm N/A

Tuesday 8th January

Senior School (Barrack Street Site)

9am-10am 1pm-2pm N/A

Wednesday 9th January

Senior School (Barrack Street Site)

9am-10am 1pm-2pm N/A

Thursday 10th January

Senior School (Barrack Street Site)

9am-10am 1pm-2pm 6.30pm-7.30pm

Friday 11th January

Senior School (Barrack Street Site)

9am-10am 1pm-2pm N/A

Monday 14th January

Senior School (Barrack Street Site)

9am-10am 1pm-2pm N/A

Tuesday 15th January

Senior School (Barrack Street Site)

9am-10am 1pm-2pm N/A

Wednesday 16th January

Senior School (Barrack Street Site)

9am-10am 1pm-2pm N/A

Thursday 17th January

Senior School (Barrack Street Site)

9am-10am 1pm-2pm 6.30pm-7.30pm

Friday 18th January

Senior School (Barrack Street

9am-10am 1pm-2pm N/A

Site)It should be noted that even though Parents make their applications for places ONLINE, they must also bring a paper copy of their PROOF OF ADDRESS and their CHILD’s BIRTH CERTIFICATE to their first preference school by 8th FEBRUARY at the latest.

What should I do now?

Parents need to set up an email account if you do not already have one

Check out the Education Authority (EA) website regarding Guidance on applications….. www.eani.org.uk /digitaladmissions

Plan for how to complete the application …perhaps plan to attend a drop in session in school. You can book today!

Things to Remember ……

You can book your drop in session in our school today

When applying you should make up to FOUR choices of schools on your form

Parent Portal Opens up on 2-1-19 at 10am and closes on 31-1-19 at 12 midnight

Paper applications will be taken (only as a last resort)

There will be a School Admissions Help Desk

Additional paper documents must be brought to the school separately before 8-2-19

It should be noted that even though Parents make their applications for places ONLINE, they must also bring

1. A paper copy of their PROOF OF ADDRESS,

2. CHILD’s BIRTH CERTIFICATE 3. DSS (Confirmation of Income

Support)

to their first preference school by 8th FEBRUARY at the latest.

Sample School Dinner Menu